Applications for off-campus housing went live on the Office of Residential Life's Web site at 8:30 a.m., but students don't have to hurry to get online this year.
Instead, any rising senior who applies by Dec. 15 is guaranteed permission, and juniors will have the same odds of receiving permission as in past years, regardless of how early they apply, according to Natalie Basil, associate director of residential life.
This year's process is largely the same as it has been in past years for rising seniors but has changed completely for juniors in response to student frustration and proposals from Residential Council, Basil said.
In past years, the process was first-come, first-serve. For rising seniors, this factor was somewhat irrelevant - though it was never official, seniors who applied before Dec. 15 always received off-campus permission. For juniors, the priority permission process complicated forming groups to live with. Students wanted to sign leases together, but some were approved while others were waitlisted.
This year, juniors will apply as groups, through a process similar to the housing lottery. A group ranging in size from one to 12 students will select a "group owner" to fill out the online application, and subsequently, each member of the group will receive an e-mail from ResLife. After reading through the informational slideshow about living off-campus, the other members of the group will confirm their slots.
On Dec. 15, all groups of juniors will be randomly assigned a selection number, regardless of group size or application date. After seniors have received off-campus permission, ResLife will move to the list of juniors. Any juniors remaining on the list will be waitlisted in order of their selection number, and any juniors who apply after the deadline will be added to the list in order of application date.
Seniors who apply after Dec. 15 will also be placed on a waitlist in the order in which they apply, but seniors on the waitlist will be offered permission before juniors, regardless of application date.
Basil said juniors should remember that off-campus permission is "a senior process," first and foremost. ResLife grants permission to a targeted 1,000 students annually - a number that will remain the same for this year. Historically, they cannot hit that target with seniors alone, and as a result, about 20 percent of the slots go to juniors. However, this is not a guarantee, she said.
The changes in the system were implemented largely to make the process simpler for juniors who choose the off-campus route. ResCouncil hopes to "facilitate juniors going off campus and going off campus together," said James Reed '09, chair of ResCouncil.
Reed said historically the process has been much more difficult for juniors because the system is seniority-based.
Tucker Wetmore '10, who is living off campus this year, called the changes "brilliant."
His group applied to live off-campus late, and they were not all granted permission at the same time. Luckily, he said, they all ultimately did receive permission, but "we might have had some of the kids in our group living in the dorms" and "random people" subletting the rest of the house.
The new policy "will prevent people from getting left out and potentially ruining the experience," he said.
But Wetmore said he did not agree with the transition away from a first-come first-serve policy. He said he knows rising juniors who have already found housing and made agreements with landlords, but with the changed policy, "there's a random chance that even though they've been proactive on all fronts they won't get permission."
Another change for rising juniors is that they will not have to reapply for permission the following year, as long as there are no breaks in their housing.
Seniors will still apply as individuals and receive permission as their applications are processed. If a senior opts to apply with a group of juniors, the senior gives up automatic permission. Including a senior in a junior group "will not impact the group's outcome," Basil said.
The only other change to the process - for both juniors and seniors - is the acceptance of off-campus permission. In past years, students were e-mailed upon receiving permission and had to respond within 72 hours in order to live off-campus.
"Just given the fact that Brown students are very busy, it tends to be something that wasn't always done in a timely manner," Reed said.
The acceptance of the offer will now be considered automatic, one of the provisions ResCouncil suggested to ResLife.
"If people are filling out the application, they're going to want it," Reed said, referring to off-campus housing.
Basil said the application is going online later than originally anticipated because ResLife wanted to ensure the system was clear and easily accessible.
There are a number of steps and a large amount of information, but she said they tried to break it down as much as possible, especially for rising juniors.
She said she hopes students will like this process better and not have to face the perennial dilemmas associated with signing a group lease.
Reed said ResCouncil is happy with the changes.
"We just feel like it will make the process much easier (and) more of a friendly process both for juniors and seniors," he said.
